RAS question
Harshavardhana's biography 'Harshacharita' was written by:
Correct answer: (A) Banabhatta.
Harshavardhana's biography Harshacharita was written by Banabhatta, his court poet.
Explanation
Banabhatta is the right answer because eGyanKosh, Unit 13: The Vardhana Dynasty identifies Harshacharita as one of the most important sources for the dynasty's history and says it was composed by Harshavardhana's court poet Banabhatta. Harshacharita is treated as an early successful attempt at historical biography in Sanskrit prose. This is the standard RAS framing: Banabhatta is linked with Harsha's court and with Harshacharita, while Kadambari is another notable work attributed to him. Hiuen Tsang also stands alongside Banabhatta as a major source for Harsha's reign and the Kanauj Assembly, but the biography named in the question is Banabhatta's work.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Kalidasa is not linked to Harshacharita here; he is a Gupta-period poet, not Harsha's court biographer.
- (C) Harishena is associated with the Allahabad Pillar Inscription, so he does not fit a question asking for the author of Harshacharita.
- (D) Ravikirti is associated with the Aihole inscription, not with Banabhatta's Sanskrit prose biography of Harsha.
Concept
This tests the source-based study of early medieval Indian history: matching rulers, court authors and inscriptions. It recurs in RAS because Harsha's age is reconstructed from literary sources, foreign accounts and inscriptions, so source attribution is a frequent factual trap.